Pro-Trump influencer Benny Johnson sued for defamation by ICE protesters
Kyle Frankovich and Maureen Foody allege Benny Johnson falsely portrayed them as "left-wing terrorists" who assaulted federal officers after they were detained outside an ICE facility in Illinois last October.
Pro-Trump media figure Benny Johnson is being sued for defamation by two protesters who say he falsely portrayed them as “left-wing terrorists” who had assaulted federal officers, according to a lawsuit filed on Friday.
Kyle Frankovich and Maureen Foody allege Johnson posted video of them detained outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, last October, with Johnson saying in one video: “These individuals assaulted ICE officers as they were trying to clear out the area behind us over here.”
According to the suit, Johnson made the videos while embedded with then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and then Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino, and knew his claims were untrue. Frankovich says he was observing and recording ICE agents from a designated “free speech” area when he was thrown to the ground and arrested. Both plaintiffs were released without charges.
Frankovich told NPR he remembers being filmed by what appeared to be civilians in reflective vests. “I’d seen Kristy Noem being walked past and I kind of put it together at that point that ‘Oh, they’re filming propaganda. They’re using us as props,’” he said.
Images of Frankovich with his hands zip-tied behind him were later used in recruiting material by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Frankovich also said he began to see social media posts falsely claiming he was a Chicago antifa leader, which he says he is not.
“Benny Johnson is a key part of Trump’s malignant disinformation ecosystem that has spread lies and propaganda with impunity,” said Karianne Jones, a partner with Evergreen Legal Strategies, the lead law firm filing the suit.
Frankovich is a data scientist who works for Harvard University; Foody is a court reporter. The complaint says both have lived with fears of violent attacks and professional consequences since being labelled terrorists in Johnson’s videos, which aired on Fox News. Johnson, who has millions of social media followers, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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